Shirley Temple's Blue Diamond Ring Set To Fetch $35M At Auction

A blue diamond ring that the late child star-turned-diplomat Shirley Temple wore for decades is going up for auction. The gem will be part of Sotheby’s 2016 ‘Magnificent Jewels in New York’ sale, taking place on April 19.

The Hollywood star was given the ring by her father in 1940, around the time of her 12th birthday as well as the premier of her film “The Blue Bird,” and the traditional cushion-cut stone remained in her collection until she died in 2014.

Listed as a ‘Fancy Deep Blue, Potentially Internally Flawless, VVS2 clarity diamond ring’, the jewel features an original Art Deco-inspired setting. It was purchased for US$7,210 in 1940 and goes up for auction with an estimate of US$25-35 million..

In November 2015, Sotheby’s set a new world auction record for any diamond or any gemstone ― as well as a record price-per-carat for any diamond or gemstone ― when a 12.03-carat Fancy Vivid Blue diamond sold for US$48,468,158 (US$4,028,941 per carat) in Geneva.